Blow to Kejriwal govt: EC recommends disqualification of 20 AAP MLAs

News Network
January 19, 2018

New Delhi: In a big setback for the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), the Election Commission on Friday recommended that 20 MLAs of Arvind Kejriwal-led party be disqualified on charge of holding 'office of profit'.

The decision comes days before Achal Kumar Joti retires as the Chief Election Commissioner.  Sources said the EC has forwarded its recommendation to the President.

If the President accepts the recommendation, Delhi will see a mini-assembly election with 20 seats up for grabs in the 70-member House.

Initially, 21 MLAs were named in the case. The number came down to 20 after Rajouri Garden MLA Jarnail Singh resigned to contest against Parkash Singh Badal in the Punjab Assembly elections.

As OP Rawat is all set to become the Chief Election Commissioner it remains to be seen what happens to his decision to recuse himself from hearing all AAP related issues. This after Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal questioned his impartiality in a media interview in April, 2017.

However, the option before the party remains to challenge the Election Commission ruling in the higher court. In August 2017, the Delhi High Court had refused to entertain AAP MLAs' plea for staying the Commission's order upholding maintainability of the petition.

The ground on which the High Court had quashed was that since EC's proceedings on hearing the central issue of whether the MLAs had indeed held 'office of profit' were yet to begin, there was no scope for a stay.

The issue in front of the Election Commission was whether the office of Parliamentary Secretary in the GNCTD, 1991 constitutes an ‘office of profit’. Article 191 of the Constitution has not defined what is an ‘office of profit’ which has paved the way to the Courts to lay down the law

The entire issue came into existence when on March 13, 2015, the Arvind Kejriwal government passed an order appointing 21 MLAs as Parliamentary Secretaries. This was challenged by Advocate Prashant Patel who petitioned President Pranab Mukherjee on June 19, 2015, that these MLAs were now holding ‘office of profit’ and should be disqualified.

The Delhi Legislative Assembly, then passed the Delhi Member of Legislative Assembly (Removal of Disqualification) ( Amendment Bill ), 2015 excluding Parliamentary Secretaries from “ office of profit’ with retrospective effect.

However, the President withheld assent to the amendment bill and referred the matter to the Election Commission.

Names of 20 AAP MLAs who have been recommended for disqualification

Praveen Kumar (Jangpura)

Sharad Kumar (Narela)

Adarsh Shastri (Dwarka)

Madan Lal (Kasturba Nagar)

Shiv Charan Goel (Moti Nagar)

Sanjeev Jha (Burari)

Sarita Singh (Rohtas Nagar)

Naresh Yadav (Mehrauli)

Jarnail Singh (Tilak Nagar)

Rajesh Gupta (Wazirpur)

Som Dutt (Sadar Bazar)

Rajesh Rishi (Wazirpur)

Avtar Singh (Kalkaji)

Kailash Gahlot (Najafgarh)

Vijender Singh Vijay (Rajinder Singh)

Anil Kumar Bajpal (Gandhi Nagar)

Manoj Kumar (Kondli)

Alka Lamba (Chandni Chowk)

Nitin Tyagi (Laxmi Nagar)

Sukhvir Singh (Mundka)

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News Network
February 21,2020

Pune/Mumbai, Feb 21: A BJP youth wing leader from Pune on Thursday submitted a complaint application to the police against AIMIM leader Waris Pathan for his controversial remarks made recently in Karnataka.

Pathan has claimed he has been quoted out of context.

Parismal Deshpande, a BJYM worker, submitted the written application at the Deccan Gymkhana police station, demading action against Pathan for allegedly promoting enmity between different groups and outraging religious feelings of a community.

Deshpande, in his complaint stated, that Pathan reportedly said "15 crore hai lekin 100 crore pe bhari hai' (We are 15 crore but we can dominate 100 crore).

"The statement by Pathan promotes violence and create a divide between two communities.

"Because of such statements, there are possibilities of atmosphere getting vitiated. Hence, he should be booked under IPC sections 153A (promoting enmity between different groups, 295A (outraging religious feelings), and 504 (provoking breach of the peace)," Deshpande said in the complaint.

An officer from the Deccan police station confirmed receiving the application.

Meanwhile, in Mumbai, the BJP slammed Pathan.

The saffron party on Thursday tweeted @BJP4Maharashtra saying, "Waris Pathan, who are you threatening to? Shiv Sena led government may tolerate your comments; but BJP and people of Maharashtra will teach you a lesson that your hate- mongering speeches will be shut."

However, Pathan has issued a statement to the media, saying he has been quoted out of context.

"I hereby wish to state that the media reports on TV channels showing my statement made in the public meeting at Gulbarga five days back have totally quoted me out of context," Pathan claimed on late Thursday evening.

"I wish to reiterate that I can never say anything intentionally or unintentionally that hurts the sentiments of any caste, community or gender. I am a proud Indian and respects the plurality of this country," he said.

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Agencies
February 4,2020

The government suspended all the India-bound air travel from China and has declared all visas 'invalid', on Monday, due to the rapid escalation of cases of novel coronavirus outbreak which originated in Wuhan.

"Embassy and our Consulates have been receiving several queries from Chinese citizens as well as other foreign nationals, who are based out of China or visited China in the last 2 weeks, as to whether they can use their valid single/multiple entry visas to travel to India," tweeted the Embassy of India in Beijing, China.

"It is clarified that existing visas are no longer valid. Intending visitors to India should contact the Indian Embassy in Beijing ([email protected]) or the Consulates in Shanghai ([email protected]) and Guangzhou ([email protected]) to apply afresh for an Indian visa," it said.

Further, regarding the validity of visas, the embassy said, "Indian Visa Application Centres (http://blsindia-china.com) in these cities may also be contacted in this regard. Visa Section of the Embassy/Consulates of India in China can be contacted to ascertain the validity of visa before undertaking any visit to India."

"All those who are already in India (with regular or e-visa) and had traveled from China after January 15 are requested to contact the hotline number of Ministry of Health and Family Welfare of Government of India (+91-11-23978046 and email: [email protected])," the embassy said.

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News Network
July 25,2020

Bhopal, Jul 25: Madhya Pradesh chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan said on Saturday he has tested positive for the coronavirus disease (Covid-19).

Chouhan made the announcement in a series of tweets.

“My dear countrymen, I had symptoms of COVID-19 and after the test, my report has come back positive. I appeal to all my colleagues that whoever came in contact with me, must get their corona test done. And my close contacts should quarantine themselves,” Chouhan said in a tweet in Hindi.

“If COVID19 is treated on time, a person is completely cured. I have been reviewing the status of corona infection every evening since March 25. I will try to review corona situation through video conferencing as much as possible now,” he added.

The chief minister said the review meeting will now be held by home minister Narottam Mishra, urban development and administration minister Bhuppendra Singh, health education minister Vishvas Sarang and health minister Dr Prabhuram Choudhary in his absence.

“I will also continue to do everything possible to help control COVID19 in the state during treatment,” he said.

One of Chouhan’s ministerial colleagues tested positive for Covid-19 late on July 22.

The chief minister along with the minister, the Bharatiya Janata Party’s state unit president VD Sharma and state unit general secretary (organisation) Suhas Bhagat had visited Lucknow in a government plane on July 21 to attend the funeral of MP governor Lalji Tandon who died away in the Uttar Pradesh capital, his hometown. during hospitalisation.

The minister is admitted to a private medical college’s teaching hospital in Bhopal.

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Kannadiga
 - 
Saturday, 25 Jul 2020

Why so priority for him. There are so many  better person here in our State and District Talk and Right about them.

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